Centreville Bank is poised to kick off its 14th annual Toys for Tots drive on Monday, November 13, and for many at the bank the drive has special meaning.

“During the time of our inaugural drive, held in 2004, we had an employee whose son was a deployed Marine. It was December when he came home on leave, and he represented the Marines when the toys were picked up here at our West Warwick headquarters,” said Tom Lamb, president, chairman and CEO of Centreville Bank. “Tragically, that Marine – Sgt. Brian St. Germaine of West Warwick – was killed in action in April of 2006. The bank had dedicated our Toys for Tots drive to his memory, ever since.”

A core group of Centreville Bank employees – West Warwick residents Denise Tourangeau, Cindy Joaquin, and Gale Lucier, joined by Coventry residents Susan Gourd, Debra Greene, Jeanne Hoxsie, and Donna Petersen – serve as ambassadors for the annual drive. Since 2004, the Bank’s customers and employees have collected more than 7,000 for Toys for Tots, bringing joy to hundreds of local children each year.

Centreville Bank’s seven branches in West Warwick, Coventry, Cranston, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, North Kingstown and Narragansett will accept donations of new, unwrapped toys and books for Toys for Tots from November 13 through Saturday, December 9. For branch locations and hours, visit www.centrevillebank.com/branch-locations. For safety reasons, Toys for Tots does not distribute homemade toys, or toys that resemble realistic-looking weapons.